Brazilian state-owned oil and gas group Petrobras has initiated a competitive process for the sale of its fully-owned subsidiary Liquigás Distribuidora, which operates in the bottling, distribution and sale of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
Liquigás is present in almost all Brazilian states, with 23 operative centres, 19 deposits, 1 storage and rail base, and a network of around 4,800 authorized resellers, with a market share of 23%.
Petrobras is facing a stagnating production and suffering low oil prices and is involved in a large corruption scandal. The company's debt is nearing US$130bn and Petrobras has committed to sell US$14bn of assets in 2016. In May 2016, the group announced the sale of its activities in Argentina and Chile, for a total consideration of nearly US$1.4bn and the sale of its two LNG terminals in Rio de Janeiro and Ceará (Brazil) in May 2016. The group also plans to sell its rights in 104 onshore oil and gas concessions in an attempt to raise cash and focus on more profitable offshore assets.